LICK VALUES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 315, 31 August 1932, Page 2

LICK VALUES

WARNING THAT EXCESSIVE USE MAY DO HARM. IODINE DANGERS. Discussing the use of the licks for sheep at the Massey College, Mr. Perry said, "the- value of a lick depends on the mineral defieiencies of the country concerned. I may say, however, that they are tricky things to play about with. Iodine is a very danger ous thing because it can do a great deal of harm if given in excess. It should be realised that eertain minerals areonly required in very small amounts. One of the worlcers at the Waite Institute at Adelaide told me that in his opinion sheep in Australia were in some cases getting too much minerals as a result of licks being made too palatable. So far as the many samples of soils which they had examined were concerned there was no iodine defieiency in Australian soils and the money spent by the graziers on feeding iodine had therefore been wasted. "There is no doubt that there is a shortage of iodine in some New Zealand soils," said Mr. Perry. "I once tried adding iodine to the salt which I gave to show sheep but unfortunately my shepherd fed more than was good for them. I noticed that the sheep were going very white in the wool and on making enquiries found that they were getting more iodine than I had ordered. I at once stopped feeding the latter but it took the sheep some time to get over the ill effects. I am a great believer in rock salt. It has been found that want of iodine has cost many losses in hoggets in the Mackenzie country. Rock salt from the Red Sea contains a sufficiency of iodine — we use this and so get over the difficulty."